LAFD Attends Extreme Aircrew Training at 'Graveyard of the Pacific'

During January 2012, the Los Angeles Fire Department was invited to participate in a first of its kind joint-agency training at the U.S. Coast Guard's Advanced Helicopter Rescue School. It was an extreme honor for LAFD personnel to learn from the world's finest...

Hail pelts the side of students’ faces as they prepare to plunge into the frigid surf. Their teachers put on fins while lifeguards float on jet skis just beyond the 12-foot breaking waves, crashing on the beach before them. This is no ordinary classroom, and these are no ordinary students.

The Coast Guard’s Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, held in Astoria, Ore., and the area surrounding the Columbia River entrance, typically does what its name implies. It’s a Coast Guard school that teaches Coast Guard helicopter crews advanced rescue techniques required for successful mission execution in extreme conditions.

One recent class of trainees took their extreme training as an opportunity to partner with other rescue professionals. The class convening at the end of January included air operations members of both the Los Angeles City and Santa Barbara County, Calif., fire departments as well as pararescuemen with the Royal Canadian Air Force 442nd Squadron out of Comox, B.C. The mix of students marked the first joint-agency class of its kind, strengthening partnerships and sharing knowledge with civilian and military rescue agencies with similar search and rescue missions. (read on, see additional video...)